Nearly 700 Iraqis Killed in August

A total of 691 Iraqis were killed and another 1,016 were injured in acts of terrorism, violence and armed conflict in Iraq, excluding Anbar, in August 2016*, according to casualty figures recorded by the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI).

UNAMI has not been able to obtain the civilian casualty figures from the Anbar Health Department for the month of August.

“The bloodletting in Iraq continues without letup. Casualty figures remain too high and civilians again are bearing the brunt,” Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General for Iraq (SRSG), Mr. Ján Kubiš said.

“In the past few days, Daesh suicide bombers struck a wedding celebration in Ain Al-Tamr in Karbala Governorate, killing or wounding many, and bombs went off in the capital Baghdad. We strongly condemn these terrorist attacks and other acts of violence, reiterate our call on the parties to undertake every effort to safeguard the lives of civilians and urge Iraqis in general to show strength in unity in the face of this unrelenting violence,” Mr. Kubiš said.

* CAVEATS: In general, UNAMI has been hindered in effectively verifying casualties in conflict areas in some cases; UNAMI could only partially verify certain incidents. UNAMI has also received, without being able to verify, reports of large numbers of casualties along with unknown numbers of persons who have died from secondary effects of violence after having fled their homes due to exposure to the elements, lack of water, food, medicines and health care. For these reasons, the figures reported have to be considered as the absolute minimum. [UNAMI has not been able to obtain the civilian casualty figures from Anbar for the month of August.]